The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) on Thursday condemned the alleged detention of publisher and activist Omoyele Sowore by the Nigeria Police Force.
NLC President Joe Ajaero affirmed that freedom of speech and association are inalienable rights enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution.
He added that the government must visibly uphold these rights.
Ajaero’s remarks followed a post by Sowore, in which he accused the police of detaining and assaulting him after he honoured an invitation from the IGP Monitoring Unit.
Sowore alleged that a team led by a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) forcefully entered his detention cell and relocated him to an undisclosed location.
Sowore had tweeted, “At about 6AM, a police team, headed by a CSP from the IGP Monitoring Unit, forcibly entered Omoyele Sowore’s detention cell at the FID in Abuja, broke his right hand, and transported him to an undisclosed location.”
In response, Ajaero said: “If Sowore has offended any big man or woman in government or has in any way offended the law, they should be bold enough to explore the legal options available such as going to court, but certainly not to resort to this level of harassment. How many times has Sowore been arrested this year alone?
“The NLC warns that silence in the face of such repression is complicity. If the state can arbitrarily detain Sowore today, no journalist, no trade unionist, no activist, and no ordinary citizen is safe tomorrow.
“We cannot allow Nigeria to slide back into the dark days of dictatorship, where fear replaces freedom and dissent is met with brute force.
“It soils the image of the government before its citizens and the international community when it behaves in a way that suggests that it is above the law.
“We are duty-bound to not only alert the nation to the inherent dangers of government observing these rights in breach but to point out the consequences of an observance in breach.
“Government like all the other citizens should be law-abiding not when it suits it but unconditionally. Irrespective of what anyone may think, Sowore has become a moral compass we can ill-afford to treat with levity”.
Ajaero also demanded Sowore’s immediate and unconditional release. He called for an end to the harassment and intimidation of activists and dissenting voices.
“Full adherence to the rule of law and constitutional guarantees of free speech and assembly.
“Nigeria should not descend into a police state, strengthened justice and democracy are good for all.
“The NLC stands in solidarity with all victims of repression and reaffirms its commitment to defending the rights of the working class and the oppressed.”
